Mira Mira no Mi
by Oozora no Hono
Summary: After nightmares of his brother's death plague his sleep, Luffy wanders into the night and sees a shooting star. He makes a wish: to have the power to protect his nakama from danger and to never fail them again. The next day, his wish is granted in the form of a fruit. With this, Luffy is rocketed into the past with the goal to save Ace from death. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Mira Mira no Mi

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, only my idea**

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><p>Summary: After nightmares of his brother's death plague his sleep, Luffy wanders into the night and sees a shooting star. He makes a wish: to have the power to protect his nakama from danger and to never fail them again. The next day his wish is granted in the form of a fruit. With this, Luffy rockets himself into the past with the goal to save Ace from death. AU.<p>

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><p>Luffy woke up panting. He was clutching his chest with one hand. It hurt. Slowly, he released his grip but the pain never went away. He didn't know why. He never really knew the reason. It had started ever since that day.<p>

Quickly, Luffy shook his head to clear away the thoughts. He shouldn't think about it—he couldn't think about it. Closing his eyes, he tried in vain to fall back asleep. It never came. Instead were the images of fire, fighting, _blood_.

Trembling slightly, Luffy silently slipped out of his bed and walked into the pitch-blackness of the night, illuminated solely by the light of a handful of stars and the moon.

He gazed up at the stars, looking for the one his brother might have turned into after his…

No! He mustn't think about it. It was a taboo.

For an immeasurable about of time, Luffy lay in the frosty grass, watching the tiny lights in the night sky twinkle gently. Then, with a flash, a star raced down to earth and disappeared into the sea.

Sighing softy, Luffy closed his eyes and made a wish.

**{I}**

Luffy opened his eyes to the blinding sun. Blinking rapidly, he sat up and found himself where he had finally fallen asleep, outside in the grass. When he looked around at his surroundings, one brightly colored object caught his attention.

It was a fruit closely resembling a ball of some sort… was it a pomegranate? Luffy curiously poked at its orange and black-coated skin. As if on cue, his stomach let out a long gurgle as if crying for food.

Rapidly, Luffy popped the fruit into his mouth but was immediately assaulted by a horrible sour-dry taste. Though true to his nature, he finished it in a single gulp without a complaint. Of course, his hunger was far from satisfied and growled for more.

With a pat on his head to make sure his straw hat still adorned it, Luffy stood up and dashed off. But within his first step in search of food, he froze. There was a searing pain working its way from his torso through the rest of his body. It was like none other that he had felt before. It was almost like icy claws gripping his limbs and slowly pulling them away as if he didn't have the powers of his devil fruit.

Collapsing to the ground, Luffy gasped for breath, vying for oxygen. If this was what death felt like, he'd become a ghost in the afterlife because there were tons of regrets in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping for the agony to go away. And it did after what felt like centuries (however many years that was).

Slowly, Luffy opened one eye, and then another. Something didn't look right. Instead of the calming scenery Amazon Lily provided, shouts and fierce battle cries filled the air accompanied by a sea of bodies squirming for victory over the other

Where was he? It looked familiar, but Luffy couldn't quite place a finger of where he had seen the place. Although it did seem like a war was currently in action. The only war he knew of was the Battle of Marineford and that had occurred almost two years ago. Before he could ponder it any more, Luffy felt his brain explode. Too much thinking. It made his head hurt.

"Luffy, what are you doing? Don't tell me you're spacing out in the middle of a fight!"

Luffy jerked his head to the side at the sound of a familiar voice that sent chills up his spine. Ace?

Under an orange hat, two fierce eyes were glaring at him. Luffy would have hugged the man on the spot if not for the furious onslaught of Marines that attempted to hurt him. But as he dodged to the side, he stumbled slightly. Looking down, he saw a serious extent of injuries decorating his body.

Since when did he get hurt? Maybe it was from that weird fruit. Yeah, probably. But that didn't explain why Ace was here. Must be another nightmare. He had had a lot of those lately.

Suddenly, there was a rumble, one that shattered the ground and caused many to lose their footing. Ahead, the Marine Headquarters crumbled like a mountain split by an earthquake. It was soon followed by a wave of smoldering hot lava and a shout from one person to another. He recognized that voice, it was one he would never forget.

Akainu.

Luffy looked around wildly. He remembered now. These were the events of the Battle of Marineford. Pinching his arm—a trick Hancock had taught him after learning about his nightmares—Luffy checked to see if this was, indeed, all a dream.

Only the dull sensation of pain registered in his mind. Hancock had said that if it hurt, he was _not_ in a dream. Luffy didn't quite understand what that meant, but got a general idea what Hancock had been trying to tell him, enough to know that something was not right.

There was another yell from Ace, one filled with rage. And with a slow feeling of horror, Luffy watched dancing flames erupt from Ace's body and head towards Akainu, only to be sucked into shimmering red and black walls of magma.

From then on, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Luffy watched as Akainu's form appeared before him, fist cloaked in steaming magma. He watched as Ace let out a strangled cry, and began to jump in front of the attack in order to shield him from the blow.

Images of Ace dying at Akainu's hand flashed before his eyes repeatedly as someone had hit a replay button. He clutched his head, shaking it an in attempt to vanquish the scene. But it didn't stop, only ending with the picture of Ace in his arms, whispering his last words.

Luffy's feet moved mechanically, as if controlled by an otherworldly force. Distantly, he could hear the roar of the war surrounding him still to a soft drone. And then everything sped back up.

Liquid fire tore through his body. Hot, saliva like beads of magma spurted through the air accompanied by smaller drops of blood that quickly dissipated from the heat that surrounded them. The smell of burnt rubber permeated the air but surprisingly, Luffy couldn't feel anything.

He saw Akainu withdraw his fist, the marines and pirates around him pause in the middle of their battles, looks of astonishment, horror, or triumph decorating their expressions. But his view was lost as all strength left his body, making him land face-first into the unforgiving cement.

He could feel warm hands, shaking with something Luffy couldn't identify, gently pull him into the owner's lap. The distressed face of his brother appeared above him, tears crawling down his cheeks, nose running slightly, and his mouth scrunched up in an attempt to hold back sobs.

Luffy flashed a large grin. "Shishishi! I'm glad it wasn't you."

With a sinking heart, Ace watched as his little brother's head lolled back and eyes slowly close, smile still there. Voice choked with emotion, Ace hugged Luffy close to him, trying to pass all his warmth into his little brother's cold body.

"Why?"

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><p>AN: Man, I love writing dramatic moments. They're so fun.

Just in case you're wondering, there will be a second chapter. This isn't a one-shot. And the title of this story (Mira Mira no Mi) is a shortened version of the word _mirai_, which means future. So in English it's the Future Future Fruit.

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, only my ideas**

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><p>"Lu… Luffy!" Ace hugged his brother tightly, trying to catch any sign of a breath from his mouth. But it proved futile to hear something so soft in the turmoil of war.<p>

He hoped that all this was unreal, just a horrible, terrible dream. He even wished he were still behind the Sea Stone bars of Impel Down. Even that would be better than this. If only he had been faster, he could have prevented Akainu…

A deep loathing for the Marine Admiral settled in his chest. It was hot, like the heat of flames he had been susceptible to before he obtained his Devil Fruit. He couldn't stand it; his hands itched to beat the crap out of Akainu for what he'd done.

A reassuring hand rested on his shoulder. Tearing his gaze from Luffy's face, he saw Marco sadly staring down at him.

"Ace… We have to go, now's our only chance, yoi."

"No!" He shouted, tears streaming from his eyes. I'm going to kick that b*stard's *ss for what he did!"

Marco shook his head.

"Listen, yoi, if we don't leave now, we'll probably never escape. After the shock over Straw Ha—"

"Luffy."

"—Luffy's sacrifice, we have the opportunity to go before it's too late yoi."

"No." Ace objected stubbornly.

"Ace, he's _dead_ and there's nothing you can do about that, yoi."

"No, no, no… Luffy can't be dead. He's too strong… he, he isn't even Pirate King yet!"

Marco sighed and tightened his grip on Ace's shoulder. He turned around, locking eyes with the captain of the Moby Dick, Whitebeard. With a nod, he looked away.

The earth split. People cried in shock and terror. Quickly, Marco transformed into his phoenix form and grabbed Ace with his talons. He flew towards their ship, dropping his luggage onto the deck when he reached it. Immediately, Ace was swarmed with hugs and tears by his fellow crewmembers.

"Wait, Marco! Let me go back! Luffy's still there, I can't leave him!" Ace called to the other desperately, eyes wide and pleading.

It was painful, but Marco decided to ignore the Second Division Commander and begin to prepare the ship for departure. As soon as the Captain arrived, they'd be off.

If Ace wanted to go back on his own, he'd personally chain Sea Stone cuffs to his wrists then tie him to the mast, no matter how cruel it was. None of them wanted to lose Ace again.

**{II}**

"You didn't have to kill him."

"I did what was right, you should understand that, Garp."

Garp's fists shook with anger. "You didn't have to kill him."

Akainu adjusted his cap and responded with indifference. "What are Marines if they cannot uphold justice? We were trained to rid the seas of pirates and that's what I will do."

"But why Luffy?"

Akainu slid his gaze sideways to stare at his companion through narrowed eyes. "Just because he's your grandson does not make him different from other pirates, I don't give special privileges."

Garp wanted to punch the man in his face. But he didn't—Akainu was right, not matter how much he didn't want to admit it. He knew better. He was a Marine, his son was a Revolutionary, and his grandson was a pirate. One wrong move and who knew what would happen. Of course, one punch wasn't _that_ bad. It wasn't like he was out for revenge or murder. Well maybe he was, but no one needed to know that.

Silently, Akainu walked away. Garp let him go. He didn't want to be in the other's presence any longer, it had been stifling enough already. For now, he'd have to regroup his subordinates, count how many casualties and injuries there were then report to HQ. Not that much of the headquarters was left.

He knew Coby would be devastated, maybe even Helmeppo. He was almost worried about talking to Coby face-to-face. But he threw his apprehension out of the metaphorical window and began to head towards nowhere in particular. For now, he just wanted to think. And possibly cry, but he'd do that away from prying eyes.

**{II}**

Law sat along the railing of the bow of his ship, taking in the destruction of the war. Marineford had been split in half by Whitebeard's Devil Fruit while the Marines recovering from the explosion were boarding their ships and beginning to leave the site.

On the other side of the island, a ship with the Red Hair pirates' Jolly Roger was docked. Shanks himself had come and ended the war, a move that Law had to give a bit of respect to. It was quite the feat. Not that it really mattered in the end, war stopped whenever one side lost. And it was in his interests not to be on the losing side.

Which was partially why he was here—to collect some hearts. He expected there to be at least five good ones in this batch. Lowly Marines or pirates didn't count, what would be the fun in that? The other reason was to fetch a certain someone, but that could wait a little longer, he was too busy searching for powerful pirates struck down amidst the war.

Suddenly, movement caught the corner of his eye pulled his attention away from the battlefield.

Garp the Fist was standing on a ledge, looking down. As Law drew in closer, he noticed a small body lying abandoned on the ground. Blood pooled from under a large wound and the clothes had been torn and stained so badly, that you couldn't tell what color it was originally. But the straw hat swaying gently in the breeze was unmistakable.

Slowly, Garp bowed his head and walked away without a backwards glance.

Was he too late?

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><p>AN: Thanks for all the favs/follows/reviews! Seriously, you guys are awesome. By the way, I'm not making these chapters extremely long, I hope you don't mind.

**To all readers who think Luffy's dead**: I must not reveal secrets.

**ID**: I know that a person can't have the power of 2 Devil Fruits, but when Luffy made a wish, I decided that the fruit was a sort of gift from the gods so it allowed him to have 2. If it were any other one that he happened to come across during his adventures, something bad would happen

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, only my ideas**

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><p>Law stood stiffly against the wind, watching as the remaining stragglers of the war finished their fights and went off their own ways. When everyone had gone, he'd be able to collect some fine specimen for his collection. Hopefully, many were half-alive and from relatively well-known pirates.<p>

The Whitebeard crew was gone, dragging Fire-fist along with them and leaving Straw Hat's body behind.

Law, somewhat regretful for Straw Hat's untimely demise, silently thought that if it were Ace who had taken the fatal blow, a lot more events would have happened because he had quite a large family to back him up.

Who knows? Even the great Whitebeard could have met his fate. Everyone knew he considered his subordinates to be like sons. But then, if Fire-fist was under his care, wouldn't that mean Straw Hat would be too if they were—had been—brothers?

The wind began to pick up at this point. That's when he heard it. The battlefield had been completely vacated apart from the small group of Red Hair pirates led by the Yonkou Shanks. Their voices were carried off by the wind, along with something else.

Faint, but definitely there. Weak, but powerful in a different way. Law knew his ears never fooled him, not after listening to the dying, steady, or rapid beats of the hearts in his collection.

Straw Hat was alive. Barely.

**{III}**

Shanks led his crew over the torn and scarred earth, picking their way over dead bodies and puddles of quickly drying magma. He had seen it happen. There wasn't anyone who hadn't. Even from his spot half a mile a way he had seen _it_. But somewhere, deep down, he couldn't believe his eyes.

His crew had immediately broken down. Well, most of them anyways. He knew that all of them held a special place in their hearts for the little kid from years ago. It had been a chance meeting, yes. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but partially blame himself for Luffy's death.

If only they hadn't stopped by that island for a couple of drinks to wind down after exploring the Grand Line. What would have happened then? Would Luffy still want to become the Pirate King and search for a crew himself?

Shanks stopped in front of the small figure, his men standing silently behind him. Luffy looked like he was asleep—his eyes were closed and mouth in a small smile that made him look as if he were in a peaceful dream.

Slowly, he bent down to check for a pulse. He had too. He just couldn't accept Luffy's fate. Not yet. He remained there, frozen in his place, hoping to find something. Just when he swore he felt a faint beat, a harsh voice jolted him out of his concentration.

Irritated, Shanks looked up to see a man whom he distantly recognized as one of the Supernovas approach him. Trailing after him was a…bear? And two others dressed in jumpsuits. Overall, they looked like quite the strange group, but the sea held so many oddities, that Shanks had grown used to it.

"He's alive." The man leading the others stated almost breathlessly. He seemed almost excited and Shanks couldn't help but quickly shift in front of Luffy protectively. Then his brain stopped functioning. What did he say?

"He's alive?" Shanks repeated, hope swelling in his chest. Around him, his crew let out sighs of relief.

"Yes." The man snapped, his eyes darting back and forth between him and Luffy. "But he won't be for long if he doesn't get treatment."

"Then I just have to find a doctor, right?" Shanks practically squealed in joy but refrained himself. He had to keep up his manly image after all.

One of the guys behind the Supernova giggled. It came from the bear. Weird.

The man suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Of course the Yonkou wouldn't know that there was a doctor standing right in front of him. "Bepo."

"Yes Captain!"

The big white bear stepped forward and moved to pick up Luffy. "Hey!" Shanks eyed the bear frostily. "What are you doing?"

"Captain's orders." He replied cheerily, motioning for the other to get out of his way.

"Captain Law's a doctor." One person piped up—the one with the penguin hat. "He knows what to do."

Shanks suddenly felt stupid, but it wasn't his fault because no one told him until now. "Oh." He said, at a loss for words. His crew laughed and poked fun at him.

"Hurry up Bepo." The man, who obviously had to be the captain, said impatiently. Law, was it? He turned around back towards his own ship. About a meter from it, he stopped and tilted his head back to stare at Shanks in the eye.

"No visitors until hours are open."

Shanks swore that the brat was teasing him but let it slide. He was offering to help Luffy after all. He sat back, watching as the group of four boarded their ship along with the small form of Luffy held gently in the arms of a talking bear. He felt a weight lift from his chest and fell back onto the bloodied stone under him.

He laid there in silence, staring at the blue sky. Cheers and laughter rang out from his sides as his men threw a small party between themselves after the news. He smiled at their antics. If only they had a couple bottles of sake…

A face appeared above him and Shanks yelped in surprise. Boa Hancock. He recognized her from her pictures as a Shichibukai. Meanwhile, everyone else was too busy to notice her presence.

"Red Hair."

"Princess." Shanks nodded, trying to push down the thought of how beautiful she was.

"Luffy…Luffy-san is alive, right?" She asked, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.

Shanks pushed himself up, brushing dirt off of his black cloak. "Yeah, just promise not to tell." He winked. So far, only him, his crew, that Supernova and his crew, and a Shichibukai new of Luffy's status. He didn't know what ties the pirate princess held towards Luffy, but it must be something important.

The blush that crept up on her cheeks was enough to tell that something was up. When Luffy regained consciousness, he wanted to pat him heartedly on the back and congratulate him. Finally picked up a girl, huh? And one that wasn't too shabby either. Oh he was going to have some fun.

Then again, Shanks added as an afterthought. Luffy was—no offense to him—a little slow and probably didn't know that he had captured the affection of a certain woman.

Suddenly, a roll of the daily newspaper dropped from the sky. The sounds of partying stilled as his crew gathered around him to see the news. Hancock had already disappeared, probably to her own ship leaving him and the Supernova the only ones left at Marineford's battle site.

He unraveled the paper to stare at the headlines.

**STRAW HAT LUFFY DEAD?!**

Below the main headline was an extensive article about the Battle at Marineford and a picture of Luffy's body being pierced by Akainu's fist of magma. He winced at the scene. Part of him wondered how the press could write so much so fast in such a short amount of time.

The other half couldn't help but smile knowingly.

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><p>AN: Mmm, yeah. He's not dead so you guys can relax. Thanks for all your reviews! It's fun to see your reactions to the chapter; they make me laugh because I already knew that he _wasn't_ dead.

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><p><strong>See you next time! And don't forget to review!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

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><p>Zoro stared at Mihawk in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"<p>

"Of course not." Mihawk scoffed. "What would I gain by lying to you?"

Zoro was silent. What would he gain? But then, he still couldn't believe that Luffy—his captain—was dead.

"There's a boat if you want to go." Mihawk said, his golden eyes gleaming. "Take it and leave."

Nodding, Zoro turned and began to walk away. He'd see for himself if the rumors really were true. He'd confirm it. People could talk all they wanted, gossip all they could. The Marines were probably just trying to scare pirates into hiding, to get them off the seas. But he'd never lose faith in his captain, and he knew his captain would never lose sight of his dream.

**{IV}**

Nami was not happy. First, a weird person named Kuma separated her from her crew, then she had arrived on a strange island called Weatheria (which, she had to admit, _was_ kind of cool), then got herself captured by crazy scientists after realizing that her thieving skills could use some touching up. And finally, she learned that Admiral Sakazuki—or Akainu—had killed her captain.

No one could blame her when she broke down in tears like a little girl. It was nice when the scientists thought she was a poor, helpless, brokenhearted child who needed a hug. Well, she kind of did, but it wasn't like she'd ask them for one. And so she escaped.

But then she pulled a Luffy in memory of him and decided to go back and help Haredas. It was strange how she had changed during the short time in the Straw Hat crew. Of course important things such as her interest in beri and mikans didn't go away. It was the little things. Like compassion.

And she had to admit it felt good. Maybe that's why Luffy had sacrificed himself for his brother, and why Bellmère had sacrificed herself for her two daughters.

**{IV}**

Ok, so it's not like Usopp intended to become fat. Instead, the opportunity had displayed itself on a platter. Literally. And it just so happened that when he was indulging his rapidly growing stomach, his heart almost went under an attack.

Years to come, Usopp would recall and tell any open ears that this certain event was a life-changing experience for him, no lie. And he really meant it. He would never lie when it came down to loyalty between him, his crew, and his captain.

And it started with a slightly oversized News Coo—was it mocking his extra weight?—that dropped a bundle of newspaper into the center of his dish. A tasty dish, mind you, and he only had a single bite from it before it was ruined and splattered all over his face.

Licking his lips, Usopp unrolled the newspaper.

Within seconds, he was on his feet, running. He didn't care if there was a giant beetle hot on his tail, or man-eating plants grabbing at him. He needed to get off this island. After all, he was a man and men did not abandon their comrades.

**{IV}**

Ivankov handed Sanji a newspaper article. Yes, (s)he knew Sanji was a member of the Straw Hat crew but it was fun to see such a good-looking man nice and angry. Playing a little with him didn't hurt, only helping to kill some boredom. Silently, he watched various emotions slide across Sanji's face until they settled into a steely resolve.

"There are 99 masters of the Newkama Kempo."

Sanji nodded. "I'll defeat them." He wanted to become stronger so he could support his crew. And if Luffy was dead, he'd need to see a body to prove it.

Ivankov smiled, almost laughing when Sanji cringed, face scrunching up in disgust and horror. He was very beautiful, thank you very much.

The cook walked off, and Ivankov left him. It was hard, losing a friend. And he couldn't help but shudder when he recalled Dragon's face after the news had reached him. But, it wasn't that bad anymore. A little birdie had come. And let it be noted that he purposefully kept this small piece of information away from Sanji. Who knew what would happen otherwise?

So of course it was Dragon who, after learning about his son's death, had decided to sneak around just in case everything was false. After spying (or stalking as Ivankov had decided to call it) on a certain ship, it was proved that Luffy had once again fooled the world.

**{IV}**

Law had no problem admitting that he was having fun. It wasn't often where you could come across a specimen such as this one. He would definitely remember this operation for the rest of his life.

So, having a patient that was on the verge of death meant that if you did one thing wrong, well there might be one less mouth to feed in the future. And Law had no qualms about putting all his patients lives on the line when they already were.

But.

Straw Hat Luffy had managed to grasp his interest. He'd be disappointed if he lost a rival to a pathetic injury like this one. Heck, they were the Supernova 11, not the Supernova 10. And the Eleven Supernovas didn't gain their title by slowly puttering along in a boat.

The operation itself was tiring, stressing, and wearing at his nerves. But as his crew put it, he 'grinned like a madman' throughout the entire thing. First of all, he was _not_ mad. Second of all well, like he said before, it was fun so no one could blame him.

And finally, after a long afternoon of hard work and a full night of making sure his patient didn't go back into critical condition, Law got a chance to sit back and eat some onigiri. Instead of the relaxing quiet he was expecting, it was interrupted by one of his crew members.

"Captain."

"What is it Bepo?"

"You forgot to wash off the blood."

Law looked down and noted the specks of blood that had stained his clothes and gotten on his arms. "Yeah, yeah. I'll take care of that later."

"Captain."

"What is it Bepo?"

"Your eye-bags got darker."

"They're not eye-bags!" Law fumed, glaring at the bear. "They're natural!"

"Mmm." Bepo hummed thoughtfully before shuffling away to resume his watch over Straw Hat.

Law sat back down with a 'humph' and continued to munch on his onigiri. He couldn't wait to see all the startled and dumbfounded faces when they realized Straw Hat-ya hadn't met the same fate that they had come to believe.

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><p>AN: I decided to do only pre-Grand Line crew members because I didn't want to repeat similar emotional turmoil and such and get all you guys bored.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, blah blah blah (*cries*)**

**Quick A/N: So yeah, I added the rest of the crew ;)**

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><p>Chopper refused to cry. Everyone might call him a crybaby, but this time he'd stay strong. In all honesty, as soon as he set his eyes on the paper, he almost broke down. But he stopped himself.<p>

Immediately, he set to work trying to find any herbs he could use to make medicine. Luffy would need them for recuperation. He mashed up various kinds to create salves, and others meant for bringing down fever and stopping blood loss.

Halfway through an ointment, Chopper stopped and looked at his surroundings. He was in South Blue, not the Grand Line! How would he ever get to Luffy? Desperately, he ran off to find one of the birds he helped earlier. But this time, he couldn't stop the sobs that spilled from his mouth.

He'd never become the world's greatest doctor if he couldn't even save his own captain.

**{VI}**

Originally, Robin had declined the meeting with Dragon. On the other hand, it seemed as if the leader of the Revolutionaries had different thoughts.

"Nico Robin."

Robin nodded her head politely to the one she knew was Luffy's father.

Dragon cleared his throat, motioning for his men to leave the two alone. "Have you heard the news?"

"No, I haven't had the pleasure of doing so in a while. Why, might I ask?"

A roll of newspaper was handed to her and Robin accepted it, opening it to read the cover. Slowly, her eyes widened but she kept her shock to herself. Questioningly, she glanced up at Dragon.

Smiling slightly in amusement, Dragon took back the paper. "Well?"

"I don't believe it. Captain would never do such a thing."

"Your faith is admirable, Nico Robin." Dragon said, his dark pupils shining mischievously. "Now let's get down to business, shall we? I have a proposition to make."

Robin quirked an eyebrow as a signal for him to continue.

"Would you like to become stronger for your captain and the sake of the world?"

**{VI}**

Franky could not tell whether he was feeling extremely super or not. The day's paper had declared the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates dead and the crew missing in action. What nerve those writers had! If he could get ahold of them, he'd make sure to Coup de Vent them off and out of sight for a good fifty years.

The government could say whatever they wanted, but the Straw Hat Pirates would never be defeated so easily! But, something in the back of his mind told him that no one was perfect and all had to meet an end at some point. Just like old Tom.

Second, he had learned about Doctor Vegapunk's lab and burst into heartfelt (and manly) tears. Oh the feels!

After he had composed himself once again, he set off to the lab. There was some work to be done.

**{VI}**

Brook's fingers itched to compose a piece of lightening, joyful music for his captain and even to cheer himself up too. It felt like he had lost his old crew again—his old captain—and it made his heart feel broken. (But I don't have a heart because I'm all bones! Yohohoho!)

In his head, he hummed the tune to Bink's Sake, thinking about how Luffy was doing right now. Was he well? Probably not so much. But getting better? He hoped. And so, Brook found himself lonely for the first time since his death and rebirth. Without the rest of the crew, he wondered if Luffy felt lonely too.

Eyes finding a blank sheet of paper and a pen (even though I don't have any eyes, yohohoho!) Brook began to write a song dedicated to Luffy. He'd surprise him when they met back up sometime in the future.

**{VI}**

Omake! Dragon's Mini Adventure!

When Dragon learned about his son's death, he was skeptical. He had watched his progress ever since day one. Nothing could bring him to believe it until the proof was right in front of his eyes.

Without a word to the others (although he knew Ivankov was watching him), he slipped out of the base and headed to Marineford. There, he saw two ships docked and floating in complete silence. The atmosphere felt grim but he ignored it and approached the boat where he could feel Luffy's presence.

There wasn't a single member to be seen, suggesting that they were all below deck. Silently, he entered a room and began to explore.

In his long black cloak and with his stealthy skills, Dragon couldn't help but feel like he was a ninja. Oh this was so fun. He just had to write about this in his diar—journal when he got back!

Suddenly, a noise stopped him in his tracks, forcing him to hide behind a random table. A crewmember appeared carrying a tray filled with vials and clean bandages. This must be his lucky day!

Quickly, Dragon fell in behind the man, making sure to stay a few meters away just in case. He was led to a room that he would probably never have found himself and snuck into it from behind the man's back, locating a cabinet near a corner and hiding between them.

"How's his condition Captain?" The man who had led Dragon asked, setting down his tray on a long counter filled with bloodied surgical tools.

"Stable." Another replied, whom Dragon suspected to be the captain seeing how he was the one who responded. Vaguely, he recognized him as one of the Supernovas. "But someone needs to keep an eye on him and tell me if he slips."

Dragon had to clasp both hands over his mouth to keep the scream of joy from escaping his mouth. Ha! His son was alive! In your face World Government!

"I can." A large… polar bear? Raised his paw. "Captain should go to bed now."

"Great Bepo thanks." The captain nodded to the bear and began to walk out, only stopping before he got to the door. Turning his head to the side, two dark black eyes found a tall figure in between the room's corner and a closet.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

_Busted_.

"Uh, hi." Dragon said lamely, stepping out from his hiding place and drawing all the occupant's attention.

"Woah Captain!" The bear spoke up after a long, drawn out silence. "Is he stalking you?"

Dragon could swear he felt a blush creeping up on his cheeks. Please let there not be a blush, he had a reputation to keep!

"Maybe Bepo." The captain answered with a half-sadistic smile playing on his lips. "Shall we find out?"

Hey, now. He was _not_ a stalker. Well, on second thought, maybe he was a little of a stalker. But not to this crazy captain, only to his own son! "Nice meeting you." Dragon saluted and was off, racing out the door and fleeing the ship.

His infiltration mission didn't quite go as planned, but at least the information he was looking for had been obtained.

Ahh, life as a Revolutionary was fun.

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><p>AN: I've been looking at One Piece Valentines. Gosh, they're all so funny. Thanks for all the favs/follows/review! Wow, almost 100 follows in only 4 chapters. Oh and I haven't edited this yet so if you catch any mistakes, just tell me.

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><p><strong>To Vampireotaku: Luffy is The-Boy-Who-Lived. He will become famous when everyone finds out. Mwahahaha.<strong>

**To xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx: Haha, I loved writing that part XD**

**To caring16: I added them ;) and I hope Robin's reaction was ok**

**To ichigo1508: Hmm… well it's going to be big because this is Luffy we're talking about**

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><p><strong>Don't forget to review!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

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><p>Only two days had passed after the war had ended and ever since, the Whitebeard Pirates had not been the same.<p>

Namely because of their Second Division Commander, causing them worry and discomfort. It was known throughout the entire crew that Ace's little brother had jumped in front of a fist of magma to save his older brother.

Honestly, Marco was grateful and felt like he owed a favor to the other. Or maybe the crew seeing how Straw Hat was dead. On the other hand, he could feel a slight tingling of resentment gnawing at his guy.

After Ace had lost his brother, well, he wasn't exactly how they all remembered him to be. He became moody and snapped at most of the crew when they attempted to console or approach him, he lost most of his appetite (which was a shocker to all), and despite his narcoleptic fits, was found sitting against the railing at night, staring into the night sky and stayed there without a wink of sleep. The other half of the time, he was locked up in his cabin.

But not once did they ever see a tear escape the teen.

And now, Marco found himself standing next to his captain with Ace defiantly staring back at them.

"I'm leaving Oyaji."

"Ace—" Marco started, feeling a serious case of déjà vu but was cut off when Whitebeard raised a hand.

"I understand. Your Striker is waiting for you."

With a gruff nod, Ace turned and began to walk to the edge of the Moby Dick, hopping off and landing in his trusty boat.

"Are you really letting him go Oyaji? He's going into Marine territory, what if he's captured again?"

"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed, "I know fully well where he is going. But my wayward son has his own family calling. He's free to go where he pleases, as long as he promises to come back unharmed."

"Sorry, no promises Oyaji!" A voice called from over the railing of the ship.

Marco rolled his eyes. Well as long as their father was okay with it, so was he.

The crew watched their mate jet off, hoping that events wouldn't end like they did last time.

"Should someone go with him?" Namur asked, shifting uneasily.

"He's fine, my sons. Trust your family." Whitebeard said, taking a large swig of alcohol despite his fussing nurses.

"Hey, does anyone know if he took his Log Pose with him?" Vista piped up, looking around. "I don't think I saw it on him. It might've broke during the war."

Marco slapped a hand to his face. "Great," he groaned, looking out into the sea, hoping to catch a flash of orange flames but Ace had already disappeared past the horizon. "He's going to get lost."

**{VI}**

Ace slowly twirled his orange hat over his finger. Well this sucked. He had no clue where he was going. Without a Log Pose and stuck in the middle of the Grand Line, he was screwed. Well, not really considering his strength, but still.

Squinting, he tried to make out any forms on the sea of blue, but there were none. Sighing, he picked a random direction and moved on. He was bound to reach an island at some point, and he had to do it as quickly as possible. He didn't have all the time in the world.

After about half a day, Ace could finally see an island up ahead. Pushing out extra fire, he sped up. It was Marineford, just his luck. It was about time his relatively good sense of direction came in handy.

But as he got closer, his stomach twisted into a knot. He gulped in nervousness. He was here to give Luffy a proper burial, but what if the Marines had already gotten to him? Garp would certainly want to take action before others did. Shaking off the thought, Ace slowed down his Striker until it came to a stop, hiding it behind a chunk of cement that had broken off of the headquarters, most likely in a stray explosion.

The island was completely deserted—it seemed as if the Marines were still gathering their wits after their half-defeat. But that didn't mean there wasn't anyone at all, there could be a few scattered around.

Cautiously, Ace made his way to where he remembered the main battle taking place. With every step, his heart sank with dread. He still couldn't accept it. Luffy wasn't dead, was he?

Finally, he came to a stop at a ruined clearing. But there was nothing there. Did Garp beat him? Taking slow steps forward, Ace noticed a small piece of paper held down under a rock to keep it from floating away in the wind.

Curiously, he approached it, removing the rock and picking it up to read. But instead of a message, there was only a cartoon drawing of a skull and crossbones but with swords instead and with a tongue sticking out in a teasing manner. He recognized it as the Red Hair Pirate's jolly roger (except for the tongue part).

What did it mean? That the Yonko Shanks had done something, and left a note to make fun of the next person?

Crushing the paper in his hand, Ace stormed back to his boat and sat down in it to think. After he calmed down, he opened his palm and smoothed out the paper to look at it again.

A few seconds passed until something small on the corner of the paper caught his eye. They were numbers, a bunch of them, and it took him a while to realize that they were coordinates.

Huh, no one on the Grand Line used coordinates to travel to the next island anymore. They had all completely depended on Log Poses because coordinates would get you nowhere unless you could predict when your ship would turn around without your notice.

But, it might be a clue, his only one. Could it mean something significant? He hoped so. He knew Red-Haired Shanks had a soft spot for Luffy to which the other looked up to Shanks like a father figure. With that, he shoved off and left the island. Now if only he had a compass.

**{VI}**

Shanks rocked backwards in his chair, sipping out of a bottle of sake.

"Captain," Yasopp began, "Are you sure it'll work?"

Rubbing a thin line of sake that had dripped down the side of his mouth, Shanks answered. "If it's Ace we're talking about, then I'm sure he'll be fine."

"But you gave him coordinates that lead to the middle of nowhere, it's not even an island!"

"It's where Trafalgar said he would be. I'm leading Ace to his brother, don't you think I'm being nice enough?" Shanks answered, setting his empty bottle down. "Now what'dya say? Time to party?"

Yasopp sighed in exasperation. "Captain, this will be the end of you one of these days. You take nothing seriously."

Shanks laughed. "I'm much more serious than you think."

"Only when it's between life and death. Even then, you still don't take everything seriously."

When he didn't get an answer, Yasopp sat back and stared at a flickering light bulb. "I wonder how Usopp is doing. He probably doesn't know the truth."

Closing his eyes, Shanks smiled. "I'm sure the Straw Hats have faith in their captain, don't you?"

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><p><strong>AN**: Thanks for all the favs/follows/reviews! I'm glad you all liked the omake XD. It was fun to write!

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><p><strong>To EpicAsianOrangeTiger26<strong>: Love the name, and yes, Luffy still is made out of rubber

**To Master Shinobi**: I know that it's mirai, but some canon Devil Fruits have shortened versions of words like the Sara Sara no Mi is short for Salamander. So I shortened mirai to mira so it fits with other Devil Fruits (most have 4 letters).

**To Nivena**: Ahh, yes the scar. Now we just need to stick some glasses on him.

**To caring16**: Haha, thanks, I'm glad I wrote it because it does feel wrong to leave out the rest of the crew. And I think Dragon as a doting father is funny so that's what happened ;)

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><p><strong>Don't forget to review!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece!**

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><p>He looked around. It was dark; there was no one else but him. Tired, he sat down and curled himself into a ball. It was cold, too. For hours, he stayed in that position, straining his ears in attempt to catch a voice, and squinting his eyes to make out a figure in the blackness.<p>

Standing, he began to walk—towards or away from his destination, he could not tell, for the darkness gave no answers. But he found himself reaching nowhere after exhausting himself from running, trying to find an exit.

He drew his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms to lay his head down. Slowly, a tear rolled down his cheek. He was lonely.

**{VII}**

"Hey Captain?"

"What is it Bepo?" Law asked irritatedly, closing a book he had been reading with a snap.

Bepo shuffled his feet nervously. "Didn't you say that Straw Hat shouldn't go into critical condition anymore?"

Law nodded, and immediately stood, knowing where the conversation was headed. "How long?"

"About three minutes."

Glancing at his crewmember, Law almost smiled. "Good job notifying me, another minute unattended might have ended badly."

Bepo turned away blushing. It wasn't every day that he was praised by his captain.

By the time they had reached the sick bay, Law had already slipped into his 'doctor mode' as his crew preferred to call it, and was impatiently tapping his fingers against his leg. The doors to the operating room opened and Penguin greeted him, giving an update on Straw Hat's status.

"There aren't any signs of his injuries bothering him. They should all be healing by now. But his heart rate has been dropping steadily, not by leaps and bounds thankfully, but if nothing is done it'll reach zero."

Law frowned. "Have you given him a blood transfusion?"

"No, he doesn't need it anymore. And he's already in a coma, so it can't be that either."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Law frowned. What a pain this was. When Straw Hat recovered, he owed the Heart Pirates. A lot.

"You didn't give him an overdose of his medicine, did you?" He said, eying Bepo suspiciously. The polar bear tended to do that to patients.

"I didn't do it this time! I swear!" Bepo answered quickly, crossing his front legs defensively. "Or maybe I did, I can't remember!"

"Just when I thought I'd get a break." Law sighed. "Go check our supplies to see if anything is under what it should be."

"Right away Captain." Bepo muttered, turning away to face the counter where all the ointments and bottles had been placed for Straw Hat's treatment. After a scan of their labels and some quick math (which didn't come easily to animals, mind you) he came to the conclusion that he did not, in fact, give Straw Hat too much of anything.

After running through all the possibilities of what could have happened, Law found himself temporarily in a stump.

He was healing nicely, although the damage to his chest would leave a nasty scar once it healed. There were no signs of trauma after the brain scan, and all his readings were close to normal. If it wasn't any of those, what was it?

**{VII}**

He jumped to his feet with a start. Was that a voice? Hesitantly, he reached out one hand. It came back with nothing. He must be hallucinating. How long had it been? Seconds? Hours? Weeks? Months? Years? He couldn't tell, and there was no way to tell time.

He was stuck in endless darkness. And he swore that it close to driving him insane. An involuntary shiver went up his spine. If only there had been someone with him, this seclusion might have be durable, fun even.

But there wasn't anyone but himself. And it was unbearable.

**{VII}**

Ace gripped the sides of the Striker so hard that his knuckles turned white. About half a mile away was a yellow submarine, half submerged so that only the upper deck was above the water.

Heart beating painfully against his chest, he picked up speed and closed the distance between him and the ship within a minute. He drew to a halt once he reached it and jumped up onto the deck.

There was no one there. "Hello?" He called but got no response. Impatiently, he pushed open the door that led inside. "Sorry for intruding." He muttered quietly. He walked down the hallways but found himself hopelessly lost. If only there was someone around.

"Hey! Who are you?"

Well, just his luck. Ace turned. "What? You weren't expecting me?" He asked teasingly.

"No, unless Captain didn't tell us we had company."

"I'm just a poor man looking for his brother, got any clues?"

"Ah! Fire-Fist Ace? Now that I think about it, Captain _might_ have mentioned you, but you didn't sound very important so I forgot about it."

"Oi, oi." Ace growled, holding up a flaming fist. "I'd gladly punch you in the face, but common sense tells me not to because I need someone to tell me where Luffy is."

"Fine, follow me."

Ace reluctantly fell into step behind the man. After walking through countless hallways, he finally found himself standing in front of swinging double doors.

"You first, princess." The man grinned.

Ace's eye twitched and the sudden urge to set the guy on fire made his fists clench.

Focusing his attention back to the doors, he placed his hands against their cold steel. With a deep breath, he pushed them open.

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><p><strong>AN**: Ha!

P.S: Sorry for the late update and short chapter. I was going to make it longer but then I decided to cut it off there.

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><p><strong>Don't forget to review!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

**A/N: Not edited, too lazy**

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><p>Law watched as the doors were shoved open, banging against the wall and bumping a few carts filled with medicine. Eye twitching, he stepped away from the operating table to confront the man who had rudely entered the room.<p>

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He growled, regretting not taking his scalpel to add to his intimidating factor.

"Luffy!" The man cried, rushing over to Law's patient and completely ignoring the irritated doctor. So this was Fire-Fist Ace, the one Red-Hair was talking about. What a jerk. He lacked manners just like his little brother.

Ace skidded to a halt and grabbed one of Luffy's hands, staring at the teen's sleeping face. His face flooded with a mixture of relief and guilt and his shoulders sagged as if a heavy weight had been lifted from them.

"Why'd you have to do that, Luffy? You know I would have taken it for you, _I_ was the one who was supposed to save you, not the other way around!"

Of course there was no response, so Law decided to interrupt at that moment. "If you're done, will you step to the side? His condition won't get any better like this."

For once, Fire-Fist seemed to hear him. "What?"

"I said, move."

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Give me one good reason."

Rolling his eyes, Law pointed to the heart monitor that Straw Hat was hooked up to. It beeped slowly, like it was dragging a boulder the size of a ship. On the other hand, it didn't seem to have its intended effect and only served to make Ace grip Luffy's hand tighter.

"You won't let him die, will you?" Ace demanded.

All of a sudden, the room seemed to rise in temperature by a few degrees.

"No, of course not." Law scoffed, crossing his arms while tapping his shoe impatiently. Why did he let Red-Hair persuade him into doing this again? Oh that's right, Red-Hair talked too much so he'd just said 'yes' to everything. It's not his fault he wasn't the most talkative fellow on the sea.

Still not trusting his words, Ace reluctantly stepped aside but kept a firm grip on Straw Hat's hand. Whatever, he could work around the stubborn idiot.

But, before he launched himself back into the operation, the beeps of the heart monitor sped up, gradual at first until it was nearly going as fast as a healthy heart.

Law stared at it, slightly dumbfounded. He hadn't even done anything! He snuck a glance at Ace who was gently running his hand through Straw Hat's messy black hair. Sighing, he sat down in his chair. Brotherly bonds, huh?

**{VIII}**

Ace was there while he watched his brother recover, not even leaving the bedside for a snack or break. By the time evening rolled around and the ship was filled with the scent of dinner, Ace still hadn't left the room. He didn't notice when he fell asleep after that, but when he woke up it was already morning.

Yawning, Ace stretched. Then he opened his eyes.

"Gah! Luffy!" Ace shouted in surprise, falling out of his chair.

"Shishishi!" Luffy tried to laugh, but his voice was dry and scratchy. "Hey Ace."

Ace could feel the corners of his eyes tear up. "Good to see you too buddy." He leaned forward to hug his little brother, making sure not to squeeze him too tightly. Otherwise Law would have his head.

When Ace drew away, he firmly planted his hands on Luffy's shoulders and started at the teen who gulped, knowing what was coming.

But, instead of venting his pent-up feelings he let his arms drop. "I'm sorry, if only I had been stronger…"

"It's not Ace's fault." Luffy said fiercely, ending his sentence in a fit of coughs, he still hadn't recovered. "I knew what you were going to do."

Ace raised an eyebrow at this.

Luffy twiddled his thumbs, causing Ace's eyebrow to rise higher. Luffy was never nervous and he never played with his thumbs.

"You see, I'm not—"

"Oi!"

The door slammed open.

"If my patient's awake, the first thing you do is contact me!" Law hissed, glaring at the two occupants of the room. "What are you, an idiot?" There was a pause. "Never mind, I know the answer."

"Well you're here, aren't you? What's the big deal?" grumbled Ace.

Law sighed; he gave up on this guy. "Just let me make sure he's not going to drop dead again and I'll let you have some family time."

"Fine." Ace consented, sitting down at the foot of Luffy's bed. "Make it quick."

Just because he said so, Law decided to take as long as he wanted. Satisfaction spread through him as he watched Fire-Fist glance at the door every so often as if trying to hurry him off. After a long forty minutes of doing this and that, Law concluded that Straw Hat would completely heal within a month and could leave the ship in two for reassurance. For now, he was confined to bed and wouldn't be able to move around or risk opening his wounds.

He'd have Bepo bring over the food. It was already on its way, half of it made out of meat. After filling Ace in with the details on how Straw Hat should rest until the end of the week, he left and headed to his quarters. It was time to read a book.

Meanwhile, Ace and Luffy fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"You were saying, Luffy?"

Luffy shook his head. "Forget it, it's not important."

Shrugging, Ace stood. He wouldn't pry. "So what do you think we should do? The world thinks you're dead."

"Really? Cool!"

Ace slapped his face. "This isn't funny, Luffy. Please take it seriously for once."

"Ok then… oh, that's cool."

"Seriously Luffy."

"Mmmhmm." Luffy mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes. He yawned.

Smiling, Ace ruffled Luffy's hair affectionately. "Law said the food is coming, if you fall asleep, I guess I'll just have to eat your share."

Luffy snapped to attention. "Food! Is there meat? I want meat! Meat!"

Ace laughed, now that was the Luffy he knew and loved. "I don't know we'll just have to see."

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><p><strong>AN:** The reunion you've all been waiting for!

So, I just finished reading Great Expectations for school. Nice ending, but I won't comment on the rest of it. For those who have read it, you'll understand, right? Anyways, I won't be updating for a while because I'll be going away for a week for spring break. So until then!

**P.S:** Kufufufu, I just noticed that I have 69 reviews…cheers to anyone who get the reference!

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><p><strong>Don't forget to review! (but I'm not forcing you to *cough*caring16*cough*)<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

**A/N: TT^TT**

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><p>Ace didn't care how long it took Luffy to completely recover from his wounds, it could take months, years even, and he would wait. But Luffy healed fast when coupled with meat so it was only natural for him to be bouncing around the walls of the ship by the end of the week.<p>

For the fifth time that day, Ace found himself sighing in exasperation. "Luffy, sit _down _and let Law give you your medicine. Please."

"And listen to your brother." Law added with a scowl, too used to finding liquid dripping from his half emptied needle after his patient had yanked his arm away and jumped off to explore more parts of the ship.

"But I'm so boooorrred." Luffy complained, looking and sounding like he meant it. "I want to go on an adventure! Is there an island nearby? I wish Usopp were here, he'd find one for me."

Ace noticed Law jabbing the needle into Luffy's arm with a little more force than necessary. "Listen, tomorrow we can leave—"

Luffy interrupted with a cheer.

"—and I'll take you to Oyaji for a bit, let him know we're okay. After that, who knows?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Luffy flung himself around Ace's shoulders. "Can we see my crew? We got split apart a while back, but I'm sure they're all fine. They're probably worried."

Before Ace could respond, Law cut in. "Actually, the Dark King requested an audience with you, said it was urgent."

Luffy's eyes narrowed. "Is the Dark King supposed to be the Pirate King's enemy? Because it sounds evil."

Ace laughed. "Does everything have to revolve around the Pirate King with you? But I suppose they are related. Silvers Rayleigh also known as the Dark King is um… _his_ Right Hand or best friend."

"Oh, okay. That guy, I know him." He turned to Law. "So, where am I supposed to meet him?"

Law shrugged. "Around."

"So helpful." Ace snorted, "Don't worry, when we see Oyaji I can ask him. He'll probably know."

**{IX}**

The next day, the two set off on Ace's Striker, slightly cramped in the boat only meant for one but Luffy cheerfully perched on the bow while Ace fueled the boat with his flames.

Luffy merrily gave each of Law's crewmembers a thank-you hug then proceeded to wave them goodbye until the submarine was a mere speck on the horizon, sharing a few quick words with Law before departing. Ace had listened in on their conversation and caught the words "join", "crew", "please", and "no way in Hell".

When the sun was hanging directly over them, they landed on a small island to collect food (which would probably disappear within the next few hours unless hidden but there was no place to store anything on the Striker) then set off again after asking around for sightings of the Moby Dick.

It took three days to locate it and by then, Luffy was draped over the sail, moaning at how bored he was with Ace expertly filtering out his complaints after years of practice.

"Hey look, Ace's back!" Came an excited shout from over the side. Already, a large swarm of people was waiting for him. His boat had must have been sighted from a few miles away.

With a jolt, Luffy sat up and immediately stretched his arms up to grab the railing and launch himself upwards. "Ace! You have a big crew!" He called, sending down an arm to snatch up his brother and pull him aboard.

"Yes, well you've already seen all of them. At Marineford, right?" Ace rolled his eyes, accepting slaps on his back and hugs from his shipmates.

"Mmm." Luffy hummed thoughtfully. "But they were all over the place and here they're all together and there's just so much people!"

Ace laughed. "And this everyone, is Luffy, my little bro'".

"Nice to meet you!" Luffy grinned, eyes roving the crowd and landing on a mop of spiky blond hair. "Ace! Ace! It's a pineapple! I'm hungry!"

There was an angry shout from the "pineapple" but Ace ignored it with another laugh. "Luffy that's Marco and no matter how delicious his hair might look, it's not edible."

Luffy sighed dramatically. "Wish Sanji were here. He can make food out of anything."

Ace punched his brother lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you to see Oyaji." Slowly, he navigated through the throng of bodies, weaving in and out until they came to a halt in front of Whitebeard's large chair at the center of the ship.

"Hey, Oyaji. I'm home." Ace greeted with a wave.

Whitebeard grunted. "I can see, and I trust your brother is fully healed?"

A giggle escaped Luffy's lips and Ace glared. "Well he can't sit long enough to down his entire dose, but it works. And he's got a nasty scar but it's better than being dead."

"Ace thinks you might know where Rayleigh is." Luffy interjected excitedly. "You know, he's really old with shaggy white hair and this cool cape and glasses."

"I know who he is." Whitebeard rumbled, looking slightly amused. "We were rivals back in my day, still are. The last I heard of him he had disappeared off in Sabaody."

"Oh, well I already saw him there." Luffy rambled, "I don't think he's there anymore, maybe I should check Amazon Lily."

Quirking an eyebrow, Ace asked, "Why would he be there?"

"I have a feeling." Luffy shrugged but wouldn't elaborate.

"Gurarara!" Whitebeard laughed, "You are a lot like someone I know. Though I'll admit I don't like him very much. Why don't you stay for a while before leaving for Amazon Lily? I'm sure my crew would enjoy your company."

"Sure!" Luffy chirped. "Thanks Jiji!"

Suddenly, Marco materialized to Whitebeard's right, red and fuming. "Hey! Who do you think you are? Disrespecting Oyaji like that!"

"What? He's Jiji and you're Pineapple. It's easier to say than your real names."

"Who's a pineapple you little brat?"

"I dunno, not me or Ace or Jiji! But there's one right in front of me!"

"Oh yeah?" Marco stepped off to the side so he was no longer standing in front of Luffy. "Who's the pineapple now?"

Ace shook his head. "You know you just admitted that you're a pineapple by stepping away."

"What?" Marco squawked indignantly. "I did not!"

"Did too." Ace automatically countered, accompanied by a snicker from Luffy.

"Did not!"

"Did too."

"Did—"

Whitebeard ended the quarrel with an annoyed glare, effectively silencing them all.

**{IX}**

After dinner with the Whitebeard crew, Luffy settled down in the spare cabin they had lent him. He snuggled within the covers and squeezed his eyes tightly shut with a smile.

Everything was so similar yet so different all at once—recuperating on Torao-guy's submarine, the talk with Rayleigh, and then _Ace_. Alive and well. The thought brought another grin to his face, one that wouldn't go away. He only regretted not being able to spend more time with Hancock and the others. Maybe he would pay them a visit when he met up with Rayleigh.

But first came training his Haki and sending word to his mates that they would meet in two years time.

With a contented sigh, Luffy fell into a dreamless sleep.

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><p><strong>Ayz283:<strong> I enjoyed reading your review! And thanks for the great idea; as you can see I wormed the crew into this chapter. But I still want to stick with Rayleigh. Hope you liked the chapter!

**Sevvus**: Y^Y thank you! I think I'm crying right now, you're so kind.

**caring16**: I praise your hiding skills, but you will never be able to escape my sight! Mwahahahahaha!

… that is weird.

Lol, you guys probably don't even remember what you said in your reviews anymore; it's been so long. Sorry.

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><p><strong>AN:** Hello, my muse is finally returning after hours of laboring schoolwork. And now summer! But stupid camps. Whatever, I'll see you in a bit!

**HEY HEY!** - that was to catch your attention. One more thing. I've got a new story called The Devil Slaves (I'm sure you might be able to get what it's about just by the title). And I was wondering if you guys want me to post the first chapter, y'know, to make up for the large gap between updates. If you do, just say so and I'll post it!

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><p><strong>Don't forget to review!<strong>


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